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Veterans Day 2005 - "Keepers of the Peace"

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Sean T Lewis

Veterans day is more about honoring militarism than it is about honoring veterans. The military parades with tanks, bands, and flyovers are the harbingers of this celebration of our militaristic culture. Honoring veterans, on the other hand, does not require trotting out weapons or Sousa marches.

But how do we truly honor our nation's veterans, that class of citizens who, for whatever personal reasons, have chosen to give up a measure of their own civil liberties for the sake of protecting our nation, and the civil liberties of the rest of us? What is the best way to honor those who have served?

In recognizing Armistice Day in 1926, the US Congress declared it should be a day of prayer and reflection in recognition of the peace attained by veterans of the First World War, "the war to end all wars". In 1938, when Armistice Day became a Federal Holiday, President Roosevelt reaffirmed this commitment to the day dedicated to peace. After the second "war to end all wars," and the Korean war, the holiday was changed to Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all of America's veterans and their efforts to bring peace to the world. In the words of President Eisenhower, we were to "reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace."

Unfortunately, changing the name accomplished more than intended. With peace removed from the name of the holiday, without "Armistice," this day that has been set aside by much of the Western World for the purpose of remembering veterans, and honoring peace has become a day to instead honor the wars we have fought and the military establishment that has kept us either in war or at the brink for more than 50 years.

Across the United States, groups of veterans are turning away from the marching bands and the military parades. They are shying away from these symbols of war, and are turning instead to each other. Veterans in cities all over the country are gathering together to hold their own humble, solemn ceremonies to honor their fallen comrades and each other. In Portland, Oregon, Veterans for Peace are for the first time inviting the public to join in an observance of Armistice Day, a day of reflection, and a time to teach peace rather than war.

Sean T Lewis
Disabled American Veteran
Persian Gulf War I
Veterans for Peace
Portland, Oregon

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